Trying Korean Food Pt. 2 - Korean Food I've Tried Thus Far - Entrées & Sides

  

Photo not mine; credit to owner/creator.

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Welcome

to

Tiffood

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This is Pt. 2 of my "Trying Korean Food" blog!

If you haven't checked out Pt. 1 yet, do so!

It's basically three easy recipes to make Korean dishes!

Check it out here!

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ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ:

DAY6 - Stop The Rain

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Stan DAY6

     I'm going to do an overview of the Korean foods that, from my knowledge, I've tried so far. In this blog, I'll be focusing on entrées and the upcoming blog will focus on snacks. I'll try to list what I've tried in order although I will fail to remember the time sometimes (because I ate some during university semester and that is a blur now). I'll also talk about what they're like, some background information and trivia, where I found them, and if I enjoyed them to give you an idea if you'd like to try as well.

     I'm excited to share this with you! I really love trying new food and Asian food has always been my favourite. Throughout my life, I've mainly been exposed to Chinese, Japanese, and Thai. There's not Korean food in my country really (I'm from an island in the Bahamas).

      I've only been able to try the few things I have tried since going abroad to university, but there's also few options there- not even Korean restaurant or store except in the nearby city.

     I hope my findings encourage you to as well venture out and explore new foods-- in this case, Korean food- whether it be for personal tasting enjoyment or you are interested in exploring Korean culture and are choosing to do so through the cuisine. 

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Korean Food I've Tried Thus Far
  Entrées & Sides

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Kimchi

김치

Romanized: gimchi

Kimchi is the national dish of both North and South Korea.

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Of course, this is one of the first things I had to try when I began exploring Korean food!

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   Kimchi is a staple in Korean cuisine and is a traditional side dish made from salted and fermented vegetables, most commonly napa cabbage and Korean radishes, with a variety of seasonings including chili powder, scallions, garlic, ginger, and jeotgal (salted seafood).
It's a very popular side-dish in Korea, having it with their food like Americans have pickles with a lot of meals.

Fun fact: Koreans say "kimchi" instead of "cheese" when taking a photo!

Click here for more kimchi trivia!

      I've been eating this for awhile now. I've had probably 3 different kinds-- store-bought at grocery store, as a side with meal at a restaurant, and homemade from a Korean store. To be honest, I don't know if it's because it was my first but the store-bought has been my favourite because it was pleasantly spicy and the cabbage was really good. The restaurant was the spiciest and the homemade was most pungent.

    If you can't find it anywhere near you, there's many recipes online. This website has 14 different recipes for Kimchi.

   🛍I found my store-bought kimchi in refrigerator section of the vegetable/produce section of the grocery store near vegetarian food such as tofu and some select Asian foods.

The container looks something like these:

Picture not mine; credit to owners/creators.

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Instant Kimchi Ramen

김치라면
Gimchi Ramyeon

Ramyeon literally translates into "instant noodles"

photos not mine; credits to owners/creators.

     Two of the most popular things to eat in Korea, kimchi and ramyeon together?! Yes, please!

     This is really a fantastic flavour of ramen, especially because ramyeon in Korea is typically spicy and kimchi is spicy so... 🤷

    This has been a great find. I have been able to find this most consistently than anything else, finding it at many of the local grocery stores where I go to university. And you know a university student loves their ramen. It's usually just a little bit more expensive than the cheapest ramen, not too bad.

     Yes, it is spicy, but I don't feel it's overpowering. I recommend a drink on hand, but I really enjoyed it and found it comforting during the winter. I like to add additional kimchi if I have it on hand, sometimes throw in seaweed for additional texture. If you like spicy ramen, definitely give it a go!

    🛍 I find these like at every grocery store, Walmart, everywhere, etc.

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Frozen Korean Meals

•Beef Bulgogi Bento with Rice

•Chicken Bulgogi Bento with Vegetables and Rice

•Chicken Bulgogi Bento with Udon Noodle

•Kimchi Rice Bento with Bacon

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•Korean-Inspired Beef

the first photo isn't mine. *added kimchi as side.

   I've typically never been a fan of frozen meals, but unfortunately sometimes the busy lifestyle from university or work forces me to eat a quick meal. And when I saw "Korean" on these boxes in the frozen aisle, I couldn't help but be intrigued. As I mentioned before, there's no Korean restaurants at home nor in the city that my university is in so I saw this as an opportunity to try some stuff.

    The verdict from me is positive! It changed my perspective on frozen meals for the better. The meat is surprisingly great. Especially Healthy Choice Korean-Inspired Beef felt very hearty.

    My only complaint is small portions but it's good if you're watching diet. Plus I oftentimes just add sides of kimchi, rice, gim, and/or vegetables.

    It's become my go-to for when I have little time when studying at night, have small lunch break, and running late.

🛍 Found at Walmart and grocery stores.

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Bulgogi

불고기

Definition of bulgogi: "Bulgogi, literally "fire meat", is a gui (Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marinated slices of beef or pork grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top griddle. It is also often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking."

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     I had heard about bulgogi for a long time so I had to try it ASAP!

    Before I got it at a restaurant, I actually made a vegetarian version with Morningstar pork and Korean BBQ sauce and now having tried it, it turned out great actually!

  I first OFFICIALLY tried it at this Vietnamese restaurant that served many popular Korean dishes. I talked someone in my group in getting bulgogi and another in getting bibimbap while I ordered Kimchi fried rice. The person who got bulgogi had it come with rice and very small sides, but the bulgogi itself was delicious and worth the hype. :p I don't even know what to say but it good!

I liked wrapping it and eating in lettuce.

  

    I've been wanting more ever since and I finally got some more at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant-- like this was the only Korean thing on the menu, I was not expecting to see it.

   This one served it on lettuce which was cool! It was saltier and fattier meat though so not as good as the first.

   

    "Bulgogi is widespread in South Korea, such as at fancy restaurants and at local supermarkets selling pan-ready kits."

If any restaurant has Korean food in the menu, this will definitely be listed.

Trivia: "Bulgogi is served in barbecue restaurants in Korea, and there are bulgogi-flavoured fast-food hamburgers sold at many South Korean fast-food restaurants. The hamburger patty is marinated in bulgogi sauce and served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and sometimes cheese."

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Bibimbap

비빔밥

Sometimes anglicized as bi bim bap or bi bim bop.

    
    Bibimbap, literally means "mixed rice"and is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (variety of edible grass and leaves) and gochujang (red chilli paste), soy sauce, or doenjang (soybean paste)-- this also had egg, carrots, and a protein of choice. It also came with a side of broth.

    

   This is what I most regret- in that I didn't eat enough of it. I low-key wish I ordered it-- it was so beautiful. What I did have was delicious-- I love how nutritious, colourful, and diverse in ingredients it is!

Trivia: "Bibimbap ingredients are rich in symbolism. Black or dark colours represent North and the kidneys – for instance, shiitake mushrooms, bracken ferns or laver. Red or orange represents South and the heart, with chilli, carrots, and jujube dates. Green represents East and the liver, with cucumber and spinach. White is West or the lungs, with foods such as bean sprouts, radish, and rice. And finally yellow represents the centre, or stomach. Foods include pumpkin, potato or egg."

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Kimchi Fried Rice

김치볶음밥

Romanized: Kimchi-bokkeumbap or kimchi-bokkeum-bap

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     I first had this at the Vietnamese-Korean restaurant. I wasn't expecting how good it was.

~it's magical. It's greater than I could have ever dreamed. I need to know to trust J-Hope. Dude know what he talking about.

      My food took the longest to come but it was worth the wait-- it was a huge portion and piping hot! It was perfect amount of spice too from the kimchi, not too spicy and they gave me a protein of choice-- I chose tofu.

   This was so good that I ended up making my own Kimchi Fried Rice (this is included in my previous blog and I list the recipe)-- it's a great way to use leftover ingredients, kimchi that's become pungent, etc. and it's quick and easy to fix! Plus filling and delicious? Um, yes!

- AND SPRITE!

Trivia: "Since kimchi fried rice is cheap and easy to make in a short period of time, it is favored by students living alone who can not afford expensive meals."

"The popularity of kimchi fried rice is also reflected in South Korean pop culture. Byun Jin-sub, a popular male singer in the late 1980s, sang a song titled "Wishes" (hangul: 희망사항) in which he stated that the singer's ideal girlfriend would be one who cooks good kimchi fried rice. Taeyang says in his 2010 song "I Need A Girl" that his ideal girlfriend will eat the kimchi fried rice that he cooks." BTS's Jimin says this is the dish he is most confident in cooking.  Also, BTS's J-Hope is infamous for mentioning his love for this dish in interviews.

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Seaweed Soup

미역국

Korean soup in which the main ingredient is miyeok, or seaweed.

there's my delicious store-bought kimchi in the back hiding!

Trivia: "Miyeok-guk is traditionally consumed by Korean women after giving birth. Miyeok is rich in calcium and iodine, nutrients that in the Korean culture are believed to be important for pregnant and/or nursing mothers. As part of birthday celebrations, guests are served miyeok-guk along with rice cakes and other traditional foods. Miyeok-guk is also eaten outside of special occasions during the rest of the year. It is a very common side dish served with rice."

"Seaweed is a good source of vitamin K, an essential vitamin, which is an important factor in blood-clotting. Eating miyeok-guk that contains a cup of seaweed enables one to absorb around 22% of the recommended daily vitamin K requirement for women and 29% of the recommended daily vitamin K requirement for men."

   

     I had been hearing about seaweed soup for forever due to its health benefits and the tradition of eating on one's birthday. I was very excited to see this at the Korean store-- plus coming with rice!

     This was delicious. I'm a very big fan of miso soup from Japan-- this was like that but even better! Like so much seaweed. It was like eating the sea for sure. 😂

     My only complaint is how it made my kitchen, particularly the microwave smell. I think my family hated me for this. It totally smelled like ocean/fish. I was having flashbacks from home, driving past the ocean and fish market.

     🛍 Found this at small Korean grocery store; not seen it anywhere else but there and online.

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Gyeran-mari or Gaeran Mari

계란말이

topped with ketchup!

    "Gyeran-mari (계란말이) or rolled omelette in Korean cuisine is a savory banchan (side dish) made with beaten eggs mixed with several finely diced ingredients."

     It's both a simple and fast dish that is great for quick lunch plus it travels well for lunch to-go! It's also filling!

    I made this and it's featured in my cooking blog too! This is really easy if you've ever made an omelette before.

     I really like this one because it's so simple and you can add as little or as much ingredients as you'd like so you're able to really adapt it to your personal taste.

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Dooboo Boochim or Doobu Boochim

두부부침

translates as "tofu fry" in English

topped with Panda Express' Sweet Chilli Sauce!

   This was something I experimented making too because it's so little ingredients and I love tofu! If you're interested in trying to make it, this one is also featured in my cooking blog.

    I can't complain-- it's tofu. I added Sweet Chilli on top for more spice.😊

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       That's it for now! MAN, that was a lot of food!

          If you made it to the end, kudos to you! This was longer than I expected.

     I hope my review and information inspires you to try some of these items!  And if you have difficulty finding these, don't be discouraged. It was years before I was able to try any. You can also do as I've done with a couple items and look at recipes for dishes you really want to try and try making it yourself.  I looked at many recipes before I made it myself, but this was my favourite website for Korean recipes: Maangchi.

   And here is the link to my blog that includes recipes!

 If you want more foodie goodness, I post a lot of foodie pics on Instagram, especially of whatever Asian food goodness I get. 💗 follow @tiffu20.

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 I'll start blogging more about new Korean and Asian foods I try!

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Eat well.

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Love Yourself, Peace 💜 ☮

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Author's notes:

*As stated in the introduction, I'm from another country and study abroad, neither of which are Korea or contain much Korean culture so I am in no way an expert in anything here. My desire in creating this blog is to help others, like me, who are interested in learning more about the Korean culture, particularly the food, but have little exposure and resources.

🛍 Stores listed are in the USA.

*All quotes are taken from Wikipedia unless stated otherwise.

*the photos used are a variety of photos I took and own, then some (specifically of products or of BTS) that I don't own therefore credits to rightful owners and creators.

*and Tiffu!